SEATTLE – Let the record show that Dejan Joveljić was every bit as advertised in his Seattle Sounders debut.
During the days following Joveljić’s signing, the hype had grown to a concerningly high level. The Sounders hadn’t just finally spent some money, but they had done so on a player who checked just about every imaginable box. Or at least that’s basically I was saying.
I compared Joveljić favorably to Raúl Ruidíaz and told just about anyone who would listen that I would rather have him than just about any other vaguely available striker in MLS. There was a lot of expectation placed on his shoulders.
It only took Joveljić 12 minutes to make that faith look well placed.
With the Sounders winning a throw deep in their own territory, Joveljić slid over to the edge of the penalty area to receive the ball. He was able to knee the pass to Snyder Brunell, who got just enough of it to get it to Kalani Kossa-Rienzi. Brunell got the ball back and pushed it wide to Sebastian Gomez.
While that was happening, Jovejić was setting up his own run. Just as Gomez got the ball, Joveljić ran in front of Fire centerback Sam Rogers and behind Jack Elliott, timing it just as Gomez's cross came into the box. Joveljić hit the ball cleanly with his first touch, nutmegging Elliott and sliding the shot past goalkeeper Chris Brady.
And just like that, the Sounders finally got their first league goal from a starting No. 9 this year. Joveljić later added a second goal, a wonderful strike from the top of the box that gave the Sounders a 2–1 lead early in the second half. It also put Joveljić in rather select company as one of only two Sounders to score a brace in their club debut, alongside Fredy Montero.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough. As has been the case for most of the past few months, the Sounders’ defense wasn’t quite up to the task and surrendered a late goal. If not for a couple of impressive saves by Andrew Thomas, the Sounders could have actually dropped all three points.
"I’m happy because I scored two goals in my first game," Joveljić said in the postgame locker room. "But I’m not fully happy because we didn’t take all three points. I think I have a feeling that we lost the game."
The overall performance was broadly illustrative of where the Sounders’ season currently sits.
On one hand, Joveljić's arrival was a much-needed shot in the arm for the entire organization. It hardly seemed a coincidence that a season-high 38,287 fans were at Lumen Field. Even beyond Joveljić's two goals, the Sounders played with a level of confidence we’ve not really seen since the World Cup break. At one point, Nouhou even chose to control a ball with his butt, there were more backheels than I can remember in a long time and there was a willingness to play aggressive passes that has often been absent.
But Joveljić's arrival does not suddenly fix every problem facing the Sounders. The defensive midfield and backline, for instance, are still very much a work in progress. Cristian Roldan's return to the field is an obvious positive development, but he was also clearly rusty and might still be a few weeks away from being fully back to the player he was before the break (to say nothing of the Best XI player he was last year).
Even the attack's effectiveness was a little deceiving. Scoring two goals in a league game for the first time in 10 games was obviously a positive, but the Sounders still struggled in terms of genuine chance creation. The only real chance the Sounders created from open play aside from Joveljić's two goals was Albert Rusnák's 81st minute shot that was blocked.
"I think we can be realistic; I think we can be honest with ourselves," Roldan said. "We gave up too many chances, especially towards the end. The game was a little too open for a 2–1 game.
"We talk about moments, and this last goal was the story of our season, where we have a chance, we have a clear opportunity, and a great block that leads to a counterattack, and then they end up scoring it, and we end up in a tie. I think that's more the storyline."
Joveljić's arrival gave the Sounders an injection of the most precious resource: hope. But hope alone is not going to salvage this season. For the Sounders to actually fulfill their potential, they need considerably more quality than they’ve put on display over the past 3.5 months. That will need to come primarily from players who are already here, but it sure would be nice if there was a little more help on the way.
